1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to furniture, and, more particularly to an interchangeable furniture system that may be used to change the structure and appearance of a furniture item.
2. General Background
Furniture products for domestic and commercial use, which frequently are costly items, often cannot easily have their structure and appearance modified for aesthetic or other purposes. Fine furniture is often finished with a wood stain and protective finish on its outer surfaces and refinishing of such furniture is prohibitively expensive, time consuming, and complicated. Painting of such an item to change its appearance is often not desirable and can impair its value. Installation of functional items, such as shelving or racks, may mar the appearance of the furniture product.
Likewise, covering components of a furniture item with fabric or leather to change appearance is also expensive and particularly difficult where the item must be disassembled to accomplish this task. For example, providing a fabric or leather covered section for a wooden headboard of a bed frame produces a pleasing appearance that significantly changes the overall aesthetic impression of the headboard, but modifying a wooden headboard to cover it with fabric is quite difficult and expensive. Accordingly, there is a need for an interchangeable furniture element that can be readily and easily interchanged to provide a different appearance or function for a furniture product, while maintaining the structural integrity of the furniture piece.